The Blue Camellia
by Your Lady Star
Summary: Within the events of the second gauntlet held in the world of Heroes, the struggle and perserverence of a male pegasus knight comes to be one of the biggest highlight for a small yet supportive group.
1. Chapter 1

_I'm back at it again with the Fire Emblem Heroes Voting Gauntlet fics!_

 _This time in honor of my favorite pegasus knight. Not keen on it? Then don't bother reading it._

 _For those who are, enjoy!_

* * *

With one final slash, it all came to an end.

The last attack from the spear knocked Beruka off her wyvern, falling to the ground as her ax fell out of reach. As she shakily opened her eyes, she noticed her wyvern laying before her, exhausted and wounded. She tried to stand up, tried to continue on, but her body was too wounded and sore for her to even hold herself up. So, as much as she hated it, she gave up and allowed herself to fall limp.

"That's the end of the round," Alfonse spoke up, "Victory goes to Subaki!"

Loud cheers erupted, Sakura and Hana leading them, as the pegasus knight came back to the ground. He dismounted from his steed as he walked up to the fallen wyvern rider. She managed to open her eyes as his footsteps came closer and stopped in front of her. She looked up and saw him smiling, a hand extended out to her.

"I'd hate to leave a fellow hero lying in the dirt."

She managed to reach up and grab his hand, and he helped her to stand up, despite her aching body, and watched as the pegasus helped her wyvern to pick itself up.

"Subaki!" Sakura ran up to them, Hana right behind her, "Y-You did amazing!"

"I gotta admit, I'm impressed," Hana said, her arms crossed but a genuine smile on her face.

"Beruka!" Camilla and Selena ran up to them, the princess taking her wounded retainer in her arms, "Are you alright, darling?"

"My wounds will fade. But my failure won't," Her monotone voice did well to hide her disappointment.

"Don't be silly, sweetie," Camilla hugged her close, easing her grip to avoid causing her pain, "You did fantastic."

"You both were impressive," Alfonse spoke as he walked up to the small group, "Now, by all means, relax and take some time to heal. The next round won't start for a while."

* * *

"I still can't believe you actually beat Beruka," Sakura said as focused her staff's magic on her retainers wounds, "I-I was really s-scared for a bit."

"I didn't think you had it in you," Hana said, a slight mocking tone.

"I'll take that as a compliment," He said, fueling his rivals fury.

"I'd prefer you not speak of your victory while around me." Beruka sat next to the group, Camilla and Selena tending to her wounds, "You kept your promise of victory to your lady, but I couldn't keep mines."

"Beruka," Camilla cooed as she held her retainer close, "I already told you you did a fantastic job. I don't care that you didn't win, I'm just glad that you're okay."

"Besides, you put up a hell of a fight. Be thankful for that, at the very least," Selena spoke as she finished wrapping the gauze around Beruka's right wrist.

She hesitated for a moment before she spoke, "Very well."

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Beruka," Subaki reassured her, "I'm grateful for my victory, but I will not deny that you were quite the opponent."

"I did believe that I almost had you for a moment," She paused before she continued, "Next time, I will be the one to succeed."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Camilla let out a small chuckle before she grabbed her two retainers hands, "Come on, girls. The next round will be starting soon and I'm up first. I'm sure you want to watch, especially you Beruka. You missed out on the last one."

"Yeah, you should have seen it," Selena smirked, "She practically wiped the floor with Hinoka! Speaking of which, who are fighting this round?"

"Alfonse said I'll be facing a pegasus knight named Cordelia."

"Oh…"

Camilla noted the red heads sudden sullen look, "Hmm? Something wrong, sweetie?"

"N-Nothing. Just be careful out there! And… try not to be too harsh on her."  
Camilla gave another chuckle, "No need to worry. It's all for fun and games." With that, she and her two retainers left the infirmary.

Sakura looked back to her own retainer, "You won't be going up until after Camilla. Want to come watch?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'll stay here for now. I want to make sure I'm in perfect form for my next round."

"Suit yourself," Hana shrugged and walked towards the door, "Let's go, Sakura."

"O-Okay. See you there, Subaki!"

Sakura and Hana left the room, leaving him alone. Now in privacy, he allowed himself to let out a sigh and lean back to lay on the infirmary bed, closing his eyes as he tried to relax. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous about his next battle. He felt his nerves standing and his heartbeat quicken at the though of it. A part of him was dreading to think about him coming out with a victory only to be taken down the next round. But another part of him was lucky that he was able to make it this far into the gauntlet, especially since he hadn't anticipated even being entered in the first place given the other pegasus knights he's come to befriend in this world.

He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he hadn't taken notice of the door to the infirmary opening and closing until he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey. Congrats on that last round."

His eyes opened as he looked towards the door, finding Hinata coming towards him, "Thank you."

The samurai stopped in front of him, "I just ran into Sakura. She said you were going to be staying here until you're up. You sure you don't wanna watch Camilla? Her fight with Hinoka was pretty insane."  
"I'm sure I'll manage," He sat up and patted the space next to him, motioning for the samurai to sit down, "But what about you? Her next round is starting soon, yet here you are with me rather than out there."

"I was planning on going, but then I heard you were here rather than out there," Hinata paused, gazing down, before he continued, "I'll be honest, I'm worried about you. What if you're next round doesn't go that smooth?"

"My, thanks for the support," Subaki teasingly mocked.

"I'm being serious! I mean… Beruka was simple. We used to train with her all the time, you know exactly how she fights. But, we hardly know a thing about this Minerva you're facing next. I mean, what if-"

"Hinata." Subaki interrupted him, placing a finger on his lips, "I'll be fine. Even if I don't come out of this next round successful, I'm just glad I was able to even have a chance at this. Just think, did you even believe that I would even be accepted into this gauntlet?"

"Usually, I would say "not really", but I'm really glad you did. You're a lot stronger than people think you are, Subaki."

The pegasus knight smiled, "Thank you," He grabbed the samurai's face, "Try to stay like that during my next round. Rather than worrying sick about me, wish me the best of luck, okay?"

Hinata sighed before he answered with a smile, "Alright."

"That's better," He gave the samurai a quick peck on the lips, something that made the other's face flare up.

"I-I-If you're gonna do that, at least let me know ahead of time!"

Subaki chuckled at his demeanor, "Sorry, it'll just ruin the fun."

"Yeah, you're definitely doing fine," Hinata stood up from the bed, "Well, guess I'll see you when you're up."

Subaki gave him a wink, "Count on it."

* * *

 _A second chapter is coming up after the second round finishes, so stay tuned for that!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Sorry this is a bit late, haven't had a lot of free time lately. Well, may as well get started._

* * *

Even though he was in a rush, Hinata tried not to let that distract him from his training. He wanted to get a little bit of practice in before Subaki's second round started, but the training partner he chose, Fir, turned out to be a bit more challenging than he had hoped, and he knew by the commotion he heard from outside the training room that he was going to be late. A part of him wanted to just throw in the towel and give her victory so he could hurry, but his pride said otherwise and pushed him to fight back harder to bring the match to an end.

Eventually, he was able to knock the swordswoman down, and after giving the quickest thank you and goodbye, bolted out the room. He wanted to run as fast as possible, but instead kept a brisk walking pace. He'd be lying if he said that, even after their talk, he was worried for Subaki's sake. During Minerva's first match, he kept a watchful eye on her, discovering quickly that she was one intimidating force. It was the main reason why he went to seek out Subaki before the second round started. But he did give him his word that he would try to remain positive. So he let out a heavy sigh, calming his nerves as he kept his steady pace.

As he walked, he watched as a small group of girls, the manaketes if he remembered, run by him, frantic and almost panicked. He stopped himself before he could start.

 _"Keep calm. It's probably nothing."_

He tried desperately to keep calm, but as more and more people ran by him, each with the same frantic and worried look, and whispers of how the match was almost over, the barrier keeping his fears in check shattered.

 _"OK, I'm NOT CALM ANYMORE!"_

He went from walking to running as fast as his legs could take him in an instant. He made it to the arena grounds the battles were being held, finding a large crowd of heroes surrounding the battle, their gazes focused down helping him realize the two fighters were grounded, but blocking his vision of them. He weaved his way through the crowd, finding whatever open spots he could to avoid having to push anyone, but stopped when he saw everyone look up. He gazed up as well, seeing Minerva a few feet off the ground, slightly wounded and small chips in her armor, let out a loud battle cry as she flew back to the ground, her ax raised high above her head, disappearing back into the crowd. The sound of the ax hitting something and a distinct cry of pain came before the crowd let out a collective gasp. He used this opportunity to finally make it through the crowd to the front, joining Sakura and Hana, as he saw what caused the collective shock.

Subaki laid face down on the ground, his body bruised and battered and his long red hair, freed from its ponytail, pooled around his head, his pegasus collapsed in front of him and his spear embedded into the ground a few feet away from him. His body twitched as he tried to get up, only barely getting an inch off the ground before he slumped back down.

"That's the end of the round," Alfonse said, breaking the silence, "Victory goes to Minerva!"

Loud cheers erupted from the silent crowd, but Hinata completely blocked them off as his eyes locked onto Subaki's unmoving form.

"SUBAKI!"

Hinata ran up to the fallen pegasus knight, Sakura and Hana right behind him, the sound of their footsteps made Subaki turn his head, brown eyes uncovered by his red hair.

"Subaki!" Sakura fell to her knees in front of him.

"Heh heh… Sorry you had to see me like this…"

Hinata grabbed Subaki's right arm, wrapping it on his shoulder. His free hand went to hold Subaki's side, but upon seeing the man flinch and groan in pain, he drew his back, shocked to find it stained in blood. Upon seeing this, he looked and found a large gash on Subaki's left side, the wound seeming to be deep and already staining his torn clothes red.

"Oh my…" Alfonse walked up to Subaki's other side, grabbing his other arm and putting it over his shoulder before looking to Hinata, "Let's get him to the infirmary right away."

The two swordsman carried the pegasus knight away, Sakura and Hana following behind, leaving the worried crowd and a particularly conflicted wyvern rider behind.

* * *

The young princess and the two retainers waited outside the door to the infirmary, anxieties racing through them as they waited to hear the extent of his injuries.

"I don't get it."

Sakura suddenly looked up at hearing the samurai, "What do you mean?"

"How did he get this bad? No one who lost in the last few rounds; hell, even in the last gauntlet no one got this injured. How did this happen?"

"Pride, if that's my guess," Hana said, catching his attention, "Not long after the match started, everyone knew Subaki was at a disadvantage. Even he knew it. But he still kept fighting. Even though everything was stacked against him, he would rather go down giving it his all than just throw in the towel," Her eyes closed as her arms crossed, deep in thought, "I think I've been underestimating that guy…"

The sound of the door opening caught their attention. Alfonse exited the infirmary, closing the door behind him.

"Alfonse, h-how is he?"

"No need to worry, Sakura, he'll be fine," The three let out a sigh of relief, "His injuries aren't too severe, but he'll have to stay off his feet for a few days. But I promise you he's alright."

"Oh, thank goodness," Sakura quietly thanked the Gods.

"We best let the others know the news as well. I can imagine there are quite a lot of others that are worried about him."

The princes and her retainer followed alongside the Askr prince. But Hinata wasn't so keen on leaving just yet. Once the others were out of sight, he reached over and opened the door, peering his head in. Subaki laid on the infirmary bed, still in his torn clothes that revealed the many gauze on his wounds, his eyes clothes with a content look on his face. Hinata thought for a moment that he was sleeping, but the pegasus knight seemed to take notice of him, looking towards him and beckoning him inside.

"Hey," He said lightly, closing the door and walking towards him.

"This is the second time you've come to visit me in secret. I truly am the lucky one."

"I'm a little surprised that you can still play around like this." Subaki gave a light chuckle as he tried to sit up, the injury in his side only allowing him to slightly hold himself up by leaning on his elbows, "You really shouldn't be pushing yourself like this."

"I'll survive," He managed to get himself to sit up, wrapping his arms around Hinata when he sat down, "Hmm… You look so down. I haven't upset you, have I?"

"No. I'm not mad at you. I just hate that you make me worry." Subaki gave him a confused look as he continued, "First I hear you got ambushed by a bunch of archers and now I see you lying face down on the ground. And both times I almost completely lost it. I just… I don't like to see you get hurt, let alone think about it," He looked straight into the other man's eyes, "I know you told me not to worry about you, but, truth is, I can't. I'm _always_ going to worry about you, right down to my last breath, so you may as well get used to it." He waited to see how the other would react, only to be surprised when he let out a light laugh, "Huh? Why are you laughing?"

"Because you're adorable," Hinata let out a frustrated groan, glaring at him with a bright red face as he continued, "I don't mind you worrying about me, so long as you don't drive yourself insane."

"I'll try not to, so long as you try not to get yourself killed all the time."

"It's a deal."

A sudden knock came along with a tough female voice, "Subaki. May I speak with you?"

"Sure. Come in, Minerva," The pegasus knight answered without hesitation, prompting a harsh glare from the samurai, who managed to pry Subaki's hands off him before Minerva entered.

The scarlet clad wyvern rider noticed the samurai's presence, "I'm not intruding, am I?"

"No, it's fine," The pegasus knight continued to speak like it was nothing.

"I see. But I'll make this quick. First, allow me to apologize. I hadn't intend to injure you this badly. But when I saw that you needed to be held up by two others, I knew that I had taken it one step too far."

"It's alright. I knew you meant no ill will."

"Thank you. Second, I must commend you for giving a good fight. I haven't seen anyone fight back so hard in a situation that yielded no victory. You truly are a worthy fighter."

"I appreciate it."

"Glad to know that's settled. I must be off. The final round will be starting soon," She turned around to leave.

"Good luck against Camilla!" Hinata shouted as she left. With the wyvern rider gone, he let out a heavy sigh he didn't know he was holding in. He then let out a surprised shriek as he felt Subaki's arms wrap around him, pulling him back to lean against the other man's chest. "You really don't seem to care who see's us, don't you?"

"Not in the slightest. Still… thank you for looking after me."

One smooth hand reached up, turning the samurai's face to look at him. Hinata waited to see what would happen, but he was only met with a gentle stare, "Um, aren't you going to kiss me? This kinda feels like a time you'd do that."

"Well, I normally would, but you were the one who said that I should make sure you're ready for me to kiss you. So, tell me, are you?"

Hinata averted his eyes, keeping his face in the others light grip, "I-It's fine, I guess. I'd rather you do that than n-"

He wasted no time as he gave the samurai a quick peck, pulling back and giving an unashamed smile, "I really am a lucky one."

Hinata looked away again, but didn't make an effort to pull away from him, "Oh, shut it."

* * *

 _I'm definitely going to do some more Heroes stories in the future. So I guess you all have something to look forward to._


End file.
